


Heartplace

by xfadingstarx



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Chronic Illness, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-05-12 21:50:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19237786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xfadingstarx/pseuds/xfadingstarx
Summary: Chance meetings turn into relationships. People understand one another through their bonds. Also know as: a constantly ill klutz and her worried sometimes-doctor, Law/OFC. AU





	1. First Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so this is my first story in a while. This plot bunny wouldn't hop out of my mind. There's also very few AU Law stories out there, so I decided to give it a shot. I'm pretty nervous about posting this, since I haven't written in the past couple of years. This is also my first attempt at third-person. Let me know if it gets too clinical or academic (because that's the only thing I've used third person for). Also, this story will be in "encounters" in LawXOC's relationship. Which means it happens in no specific order unless stated. Feel free to drop prompts in the comments. I'm not using honorifics because the story's not specifically Japanese.
> 
> (Published on ff.net under beautiful.amalgamation)

"You're going to be okay," a petite brunette whispered to an equally petite blonde.

"I don't feel like I'm going to be okay," the other girl replied, her voice hoarse.

"There's a vomit bag on the table if you need it, the nurse said."

"Thanks," the blonde said with a weak smile. She shivered a little under the warm blanket the nurse had brought her. She wheezed slightly and coughed; a faint metallic taste flooded her mouth. "I hope they see me soon. It's been 30 minutes already." She leaned her head against her friend's shoulder.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it'll be quick. You're a pretty acute case afterall." She patted the soft blonde head on her shoulder. "How long since your last episode?"

"It's not really an episode but I guess four years?" She let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes.

"Miss Hanover," female nurse in blue scrubs called.

"That's me." The blanket wrapped girl stood up.

"Perfect. Please follow me."

Both women followed the nurse to a room labelled "45".

"Can I get you to sit on the examination bed please," the nurse requested. The blonde slowly made her way over and onto the bed.

"Please confirm your personal details with me." The nurse looked down at the clipboard.

"Hanover Adelia. October fifth 1994. 6781 Birmingham Rd. Is that good enough?"

"That's perfect. I'm just going to check your vitals now, Adelia," the nurse said as she placed a blood pressure cuff on her patient's arm. "Hm. Your heart rate is quite low. Do you feel light-headed and/or dizzy at all?"

"Yes," Adelia groaned weakly, "I feel like I'm going to pass out."

"Have you vomited, had diarrhoea, or coughed up fluid in the past 48 hours?"

"I've been coughing up phlegm with blood."

"That's pretty serious. Are you on any medications for your thrombocytosis?"

"Baby aspirin once a day."

"Can I check your pulse?"

Adelia held out an unusually pale, thin wrist for the nurse to take.

After a minute, she said, "your pulse is really weak. I'm going to grab the doctor. Sit tight."

"I'm scared, Elina," Adelia whispered, her voice cracking."

"It'll be okay. I promise. They're going to take care of you." Elina reached up to stroke her hair. "Maybe you'll even find a cute doctor boyfriend who'll take care of you," she joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Haha. Very funny." Adelia's deadpan response indicated it was anything but that.

* * *

"I'm exhausted." Adelia yawned. She'd just returned from the MRI, chest x-ray, and blood work that the emergency doctor had ordered. She snuggled into the stretcher they placed her on. It wasn't the best but it'd do. "Elina, I think you should go."

Elina blinked owlishly. "Why? They still haven't don't anything about your problem yet."

"You're tired. I can tell even if you're hiding your yawns. Plus, Sanji is going to come home soon and he'll be disappointed if his pretty girlfriend isn't there to eat his cooking. I'll phone you and keep you updated."

"You sure?"

Adelia nodded. "Positive."

"Alright. Give me a ring if anything comes up. If you're still here late tonight, I'll have Sanji make you some food."

"I look forward to his yummy cooking."

* * *

Shortly after Elina left, Adelia found herself drifting into a light slumber. She coughed again, bringing more phlegm and blood into her mouth. She reached over to the table to grab a napkin. Just then, a tall figure walked into the room.

"You must be Miss Hanover," a deep smooth masculine voice questioned.

Adelia blushed a bright crimson. Embarrassed to be caught mid-spit. She quickly folded the napkin and wiped her mouth with the clean side.

"Yes. Do you need me for something?" Her voice was calm and even as she willed her blush to disappear. The figure moved to sit in the chair beside her. He was a handsome young man who didn't look much older than she. He had tattoos on both arms and his scrub top hinted at a chest tattoo. "I've never seen a doctor with tattoos before," she mused.

"I'm Dr. Trafalgar. I'm the surgeon on call. I'll be taking care of your Pulmonary Embolism. Since you have two fairly large clots and you're a high risk patient, the best option is an open embolectomy. You'll be put under general anesthesia and I'll make an incision along your sternum and remove the clots. It'll take two to three hours. We have the operating room scheduled for six pm," he glanced at the clock on the wall, "that's in three hours."

He looked at her, gauging a response. She was far too young to be undergoing this surgery and while he didn't necessarily feel pity. He did feel something akin to watching a trapped small animal escape trying to escape. "Empathy," his mind supplied and he felt the sudden urge to rub his brow. Her cough brought him back to reality.

Adelia tried to swallow. Her throat felt like it was closing up. Each breath was harder and harder to take. "So, it's basically open heart surgery," she managed to spit out.

The doctor nodded. "I'll give you some time to think about it. I'll be back in an hour." He left as quickly and he'd come and Adelia couldn't help but notice how silent his steps were.

* * *

"Elina, it's me. They want me to go in for open heart surgery to remove the clots. There are two and they're big. I think I'm going to do it. It'll take two to three hours," Adelia's voice trembled.

"Oh Sweetie," Elina crooned on the other end of the phone, "you're so brave. You've got this I'll visit you everyday."

"Don't trouble yourself."

"I insist. I'll even drag Sanji along too. He's been wondering how you've been doing."

"Okay. I'm going to get some rest before the doctor comes back. I'll phone you after the surgery."

"Take care. Bye." She pushed the red hangup icon and shut her eyes tightly.

_You're so brave._

_You're so brave._

That sentence echoed over and over. She hated those words. Where was the bravery in choosing to live?

* * *

Dr. Trafalgar Law sat in the break room nursing a mug of black coffee. He leaned back into his chair, closed his eyes, and plopped his feet up on the desk. He couldn't help but think about the woman that he'd seen earlier. She seemed so fragile and scared. She'd looked so tiny and vulnerable in pile of blankets she was buried under. He felt the need to protect her in some weird way.

Only a year younger than him and already needing open heart surgery. He couldn't help but feel that twinge of empathy again at that thought. He took a sip of his coffee.

"Too young."

_Sip_

"Too vulnerable."

_Sip_

"Pretty."

He choked on his coffee at that thought and set his mug down in favour of his phone. Anything to distract him from that girl. Even if he was just lying to himself.

* * *

"I'll do it" Adelia declared weakly when Dr. Trafalgar returned. "I'll be under your care. Please treat me kindly."

He allowed a small smirk to grace his features.

"I can't promise anything but I'll do my best."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know people don't generally like more than one OC in a story but I don't like canonXcannon One Piece pairings because Oda's given us basically nothing to work with. Actually One Piece is the only story I refuse to write fanfiction for in its world because Oda has already done such a complete job of fleshing it out and creating the story. To make a romance characterxOC story for that world and do it well while still keeping the amazingness in terms of mood, atmosphere, and tone of what Oda has created is nigh impossible. AUs on the other hand...


	2. Second Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the first three chapters are an arc. Then, I'll move on to jumping back and forth in between points in the relationship

It had been two days since Adelia had woken up and she'd moved from stretcher to actual hospital bed which was an improvement in comfort to say the least.

 

She'd been informed that the surgery had gone by without a hitch and she would be discharged soon but she would need to spend the next month in rehabilitation.

 

"I can't go back to my normal everyday life back yet, huh?" She grimaced at the thought and looked down at her freshly sutured chest. She let out a quiet sob which snowballed into silently crying. It would certainly leave an ugly scar.

 

_Why couldn't she have been born healthy?_

 

_Why was her life always interrupted by her illness?_

 

_Why did she have to make difficult decisions in order to live while her peers were off getting married and going on vacation?_

 

_Would a man even like her after he saw the scar?_

 

Those thoughts cycled through her mind as her sobs wracked her body and she cried herself to sleep. 

* * *

 

A week later, Adelia was back in her comfy apartment; sitting on her worn leather couch and practicing the rehabilitation exercises that the physiotherapist had taught her when a knock on the door sounded.

 

"Come in, it's open," she called out.

 

Elina walked in, hands full with a coffee tray and paper pastry bags. She placed her cargo on the coffee table and plopped down on the couch beside Adelia.  

 

"I got your favourite danish and chamomile tea." She placed the cup and bag in front of Adelia. "It's from that coffee shop you always go to."

 

"Thanks. You're such a good friend. Coming in and checking up on me twice a week."

 

"Don't worry about it. You're the one who went through major surgery. This is no problem at all. Plus your parents aren't here to…" Elina looked down solemnly. "Sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

 

"It's okay. It's how they are. I have you now and I will eat your boyfriend's fabulous cooking any opportunity I get." Adelia chuckled playfully.

 

"Speaking of that. I'll bring you dinner tonight."

 

"Oh no. You don't have to. Don't make two trips here in one day. You have your own life too and a day job."

 

"Don't worry about it. Work's slow right now, so I can slack off a little. You're my friend. I worry about you. Let me mother you." She looked at Adelia sternly.

 

"You're not going to budge on this."

 

"No."

 

"Okay. I'll let you mother me as much as you want. No more complaints or apologies about inconveniencing you but you have to let me do something to repay you when I'm better."

 

"Good girl." Elina reached over and patted Adelia's head.

* * *

 

Adelia rubbed her dry tired eyes, trying to suppress a yawn as she did so. She glanced at the watch on her wrist.

 

_6:15_

 

Far too early for anyone sane to be up and out of the house.

 

"I shouldn't have stayed up so late finishing that project for work," she thought as she hid her yawn behind her hand. "It's only been two months since I was discharged from the hospital. I should take it easy." Glancing at the line in front of her she sighed. Four people felt like an eternity's worth of waiting.

 

She finally got her beloved danish and tea and rushed out of the shop. She would get a stern talking to from her boss or worse if she was late again.  

 

She was so focused on her destination that she didn't notice the man in front of her until she'd bumped into him. Her face collided with his back and hot tea and coffee spilled everywhere.

 

"Motherfucker," Adelia cursed under her breath.

 

"Oh my god. I am so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going. Can I buy you another drink to make it up to you," she asked while getting up and attempting to smooth her now damp suit. She looked up at the man who'd already stood up and faced her.

 

Blue eyes met grey.

 

A look of recognition dawned on both their faces and she felt the blood rushing to her face as she blushed.

 

"You shouldn't be running so soon after surgery. You're going to end up collapsing," the surgeon drawled.

 

"S-sorry," Adelia squeaked out. She looked down at the floor and prayed that the shadow of her bangs would hide her deepening blush.

 

"Are you okay?"

 

"Yeah. I think so."

 

"No shortness of breath or dizziness?"

 

"A little bit dizzy but I think that's more from the fall." She laughed a little, "I'm used to it. I'm a bit of a klutz."

 

"If your dizziness persists, go to the hospital."

 

"I will. I promise." She flashed him a small smile and he relaxed slightly, letting out the breath he didn't even know he was holding. "Can I buy you another coffee?"

 

"It's fine."

 

"I insist. It's my fault yours spilled. Please." She looked at him with wide hopeful eyes and automatically her teeth made contact with her lower lip. She chewed on it slightly and with more fervor with each silent second that passed between them.

 

He let out a soft sigh. "Fine. Tonight at seven. This cafe."

 

Adelia beamed at him and a smile lit up her entire face.

 

"It's date."

 

She quickly rushed off into the direction of her work before he could see the blush that peppered her cheeks.

 

"Oi, I told you not to run," Law yelled after her.

* * *

 

_Bonus_

_"It's a date? Why the fuck did I just say that?!"_ Adelia groaned and slapped herself on the forehead. _"I hope he doesn't actually think it's a date. Fuck. How awkward and desperate does he think I am?"_  She stuffed her face into her hands and hoped that seven o'clock would never come.

 


	3. Third Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Thanks for all the support. I hope you all enjoy! So this is the end of the three chapter arc. After this it will be random encounters in their relationship. Feel free to write requests for what you guys would like to see in the reviews.

_Ring. Ring. Ring._ She hit ignore on her cellphone before stepping out of the staff bathroom. Gone was the coffee stained blouse, blazer, and skirt combo and in its place a comfy silk wrap dress and a loose shawl.

"God bless emergency office clothes," she muttered as she clocked out for the day, hurriedly stuffing her dirty clothes into her work bag as she rushed into the elevator.

"I swear to motherfucking lord, if you do not get into this bag…" Her threat was left unfinished as she realized there was another person in the elevator with her. Immediately, she blushed and avoided eye contact. She wished that the elevator would either reach the ground floor or lightning would strike her where she stood.

_Ding._

She rushed right out of the doors. Thanking whatever deity out there that she was not stuck reliving her embarrassment in an enclosed space as she pretended everything was okay.

* * *

_19:05_

Trafalgar D. Water Law did not particularly enjoy waiting, especially for people he'd had minute interactions with. Though the surgery that had saved her life was many hours, she'd been asleep, this therefore, in his mind did not count as a real interaction.

If he were honest, he didn't know what drove him to agree to this impromptu coffee date. He  _was_  rather curious as to how she was doing post-surgery and she did have an interesting rare disorder. Perhaps it would be fun to further investigate the specifics of her illness. It  _definitely_  had nothing to do with the way that she looked at him, like a kitten waiting for a treat. For someone so bright, Law was definitely best at lying to himself about his feelings.

* * *

_19:10_

"I'm so sorry I'm late." Adelia plopped herself down across from her ex-surgeon in a very unrefined manner.

"Fuck, there goes ladylike façade," she thought, smoothing her hair with one manicured hand.

"I had a hard time getting out of work. They kept on asking me to pull a double shift on top of my overtime today." She tried to continue as if that embarrassing blunder had never happened.

"I understand. Work can be annoying." He was still in his blue operating scrubs from this afternoon.

"I'll get that coffee for you. Do you take anything in it?"

"Black is fine, Miss Hanover."

Adelia paused in her movement and blinked in shock before resuming her previous task. In a matter of minutes she returned with two ceramic mugs in her hands. She set his down in front of him.

"I'm surprised you still remember my name. I've only met you once, Dr. Trafalgar."

Law smirked. "I don't forget patients. Especially those with interesting medical histories. You remembered my name as well."

"Well, it's hard to forget the name of the surgeon who saved me from choking to death on my own blood." She chucked mirthlessly.

"How are you doing post-operation-wise?" He quirked a curious brow.

Adelia let the fragrant smell of tea invade her nostrils before answering. "I'm doing well. I've completely recovered. I just feel a little faint every now and then. I usually feel better if I sit and close my eyes for a bit."

"Hmm. Any coughing up of blood since?"

"A little bit after the surgery but it's fine now."

"It sounds like you're recovering well, Miss Hanover."

"Adelia, please. 'Miss Hanover' is too formal and with all due respect  _Mr._  Trafalgar, I appreciate your concern but we are not at the hospital and I am not your patient. I am happy to answer any questions in a follow up appointment. However, that being said, I am very grateful that you performed my operation." Adelia regretted those words as soon as they slipped out of her mouth. Too bold. Too assertive. She sunk herself in further in her chair and wished she would just disappear.

A genuine smile stretched across the doctor's face. The kitten had claws afterall.

"That was unprofessional of me, Miss Adelia."

Adelia straightened herself and sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just so used to being poked and prodded by doctors that it sets me on edge a little. I'm not a guinea pig, you know?"

Law made a noncommittal "hmm" and looked at her with an inquisitive gaze. He knew where his boundaries were and if he wanted to dissect her disease, he would have to stay within them for the time being.

She looked down at the table, slightly fidgeting with her mug in an attempt to hide her discomfort. From the corner of her eye, she saw the tattoos on his fingers clearly spelling out DEATH.

"Why do you have 'death' tattooed on you fingers? Isn't that counter-intuitive in your profession?"

"There isn't a particular deep reason. As a doctor, death is always by my side. It reminds me that I have to be close to death in order to save lives, especially the lives of those important to me."¹ He ran a hand through his already disheveled black hair.

"I think that's pretty amazing. It shows how committed you are. I think you're a great doctor."

"I've still got a long way to go."

Adelia smiled contently and Law felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips.

"'Law' is fine."

"I'm sorry…?" She tilted her head to one side.

"My name is Trafalgar, Law."

"Okay, Law." She spoke as if she was testing out how to say his name, wrapping her tongue around the syllable much like how a newborn calf struggled to stand. She smiled again, this time wider than the last and Law decided that he rather liked her smile.

* * *

¹ Paraphrased from the "One Piece Novel Law" published in  _One Piece Magazine_. I definitely recommend reading it as it gives a good idea of what Law is like after Corazon dies and before Sabaody.

* * *

 


	4. Eighth Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The random encounters start from here.

_Eighth Encounter_

Somewhere along the line, coffee shop meet-ups turned into a dinner invitation. An invitation which Adelia regretted accepting as she stood in front of the mirror in her closet and stressed out about what to wear.

"It's semi-formal but that's too vague. What does 'semi-formal' even mean? How am I supposed to figure out what to wear when my entire closet is full of semi-formal clothes?"

A mountain of discarded clothes lay behind her on the bed and she resisted the urge to pull her coiffed blonde hair in frustration. Eventually, she zipped up an emerald cocktail dress and tried to calm herself down.

"You can do this. You're going to be okay," she muttered to herself the entire way to the lobby of her apartment building and continuing as she waited for his car.

Some time during their third coffee "date" Adelia learnt that he was exceedingly punctual and that tardiness irritated him. From then on she tried her best to be at least five minutes early at all times, even if she had to set three alarms for it.

She nervously tapped her nude pump clad foot as she waited, willing herself to calm.

It was going to be okay.

Then she saw a black Jaguar XF pull up outside.

Fuck.

It wasn't going to be okay.

* * *

Dinner was a pleasant affair. The steak was good and the wine was nice. Law did casually remind Adelia about what would happen to her health if she chose to drink too much. She rolled her eyes at him but listened nonetheless.

"So…" Adelia fidgeted with the edge of her cloth napkin on her lap after dessert had been taken away.

"Yeah?"

She willed herself to look Law in the eyes.

"Are we friends or dating or…?"

"I don't spend my time with you because we're acquaintances if that's what you're asking."

She puffed out her cheeks in frustration. It made her look a bit like a puffer fish.

"You know that's not what I meant."

He flashed her an unapologetic smile and slid over to her side of the booth. Suddenly his lips were on hers. They were surprisingly soft for a guy's and very pleasant. She was too shocked to kiss back and just as quickly as the kiss started, it stopped.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah." Her cheeks were bright crimson and a dopey smile made its way onto her face.

Moments later, the waiter came by with the check and Adelia opened up the small folder to look at the bill. Her eyes widened at the sum.

"I'll pay for my portion," she volunteered.

"It's fine. I've got it."

"But it's so expensive. Let me pay. I have money too."

"I don't take orders well. I'll pay."

Adelia crossed her arms and sulked quietly. She knew better than to fight him on this one.

* * *

He gently draped his blazer over her shoulders as they waited outside for the valet to fetch his car. She'd only tripped twice on their way out the door and she was mortified. She clung onto his arm out of the fear of tripping again and possibly falling on her face.

"Sorry. Normally I have much better balance than this."

"You could've convinced me otherwise." He smirked. She reached up and softly smacked his shoulder.

"You make me nervous. That's all." She hoped that the darkness covered her blush.

"Why?"

"You're just sort of intimidating and unapproachable, I guess. At least you give off that sort of aura and sometimes - well, all the time - it makes me anxious that I'll say the wrong thing and that'll be that. Poof. Bye-bye relationship or whatever we were before." She waved a hand in the air as if to demonstrate.

He looked at her carefully, as if mulling over a question in his mind and then patted her on the head with his free hand. She looked up at him, blue eyes wide and curious.

"Dinner was nice today. Let's do it again."

She blinked rapidly. That was not the answer that she was expecting to her emotional verbal diarrhoea. Her brow furrowed and she searched his face for any indication of a hidden meaning. Their eyes locked and he smiled that familiar lazy smile of his. It set her heart at ease and slowly, a smile made its way to the corners of her mouth as she began to understand a little bit more about the man known as Trafalgar Law.

"Dinner  _was_  nice. I'd love to do dinner again." She snuggled against his arm.

He opened the passenger side door for her and after he closed the door, he slid into the driver's seat.

"Your car is really nice."

"Thanks. It was my first big purchase as a doctor."

"That's a massive first purchase."

"My guardian growing up really liked nice cars."

"Guardian? Do you mind if I ask?"

"My parents passed away when I was young. Cora found me and took me in."

Adelia's small hand found its way on top of his much larger one on his leg and she gripped it firmly.

"I'm very sorry for you loss." She drew circles along the back of his hand. She sniffled to try and hold back the tears that'd suddenly clouded her vision and threatened to fall.

"I try not to think about it too much." Law glanced over at her just in time to see a stray tear fall. "Why are you crying?"

"It's just so sad to think about how alone you must've felt. No one should feel that alone in the world, especially not a child. It must have been so hard growing up. I'm so sorry. A-and I want to make sure you never feel that sort of loneliness again." She stammered the last bit out.

She felt a warmth envelop the hand that'd been making contact with his and she looked down to see her hand in his grasp. He squeezed her hand softly and she understood.

"You know, I don't have the greatest relationship with my parents but you're welcome to come and meet them some time. I can't guarantee you'll like them though. I've also got Elina and her boyfriend who are like family to me. We should get together with them some time."

"Mmmm. Some time."

"Some time it is then." She leaned back into the heated seat. "Thank you," she whispered before she closed her eyes and let slumber overtake her.

* * *

Law looked over at Adelia's prone figure sleeping in the seat beside his and sighed. He didn't have the heart to wake her when she was sleeping so peacefully. The circles under her eyes were well covered by makeup but they didn't escape his notice. He shook his head a little. She must have been pulling more overtime at work despite his insistence that she take it easy. Her work ethic was admirable, even if it irritated him that she never listened.

He rubbed his brow in frustration. She was an enigma to him. One moment, she was telling him off for prying into her medical history and the next, she was crying because she felt sorry for him. He really didn't know what to do with her.

With one last sigh and lingering thought about this woman who'd begun working her way into his life, he reached over and shook her awake.


End file.
